Bobbin magazine for weft replenishing looms



C. DARWIN Aug. 7, 1945.

BOBBIN MAGAZINE FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Filed May 6, 1944 Patented Aug. 7, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE y jams v BOBBIN MAGAZINE Fort WEFT REPLENISHING LOQMS Clifford Darwin, Worcester, Mass, assignor to Ciompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 6, 1944, Serial No. 534,436

*9 Claims. Cl. 139-247) This invention relates to improvements in bobbin magazines more particularly for multicolor or multi bobbin-stack for weft replenishing looms and it is thegeneral object; of the invention to provide a magazine having improved guide means for the tips and weft ends of bobbins intl ie tria azine.

Weft replenishing. loo'ms of the multicolor type generally. employ a plurality of guideways in which stacks; of reserve bobbins are arrangedam cording: to distinguishing characteristic, such as twist, size, or color. Bobbin magazines generally have two spaced end plates or frames one of which guides the bobbin butts. andthe other of which provides guideways for the bobbin tips. It has been customary in the past to provide the bobbin .tip guideplate with a thread slot for the weft ends of the bobbins as the latter move by gravity toward transfer position, but this slot weakens the end plate and requires that it be supported byseveral tie rods.

The bobbin in transfer position in a well-known type of magazine. has one side of its tipresting' on a yieldable giveway or support while the other side rests on a part,'such. as ashoulder, cast as part of the end plate. When the: support and shoulder are carried by parts of the endplate lying on opposite sides of .the slot it is difiicu-lt to 1 :96: them in proper adjustment. becauserof the tendency of the end plate either to spread or contract at the slot. Thus, in certain magazines it has beenobserved that after manufacture the thread slot contracts until itis almost too small to permit passage ofv a coarse weft thread, while in other instances the slot spreads to such an ex-- tent that the supports or giveways move. away from the shoulders with which they should coop-1.

erate to hold the bobbin tip and tail in their function of positioning the bobbin properly for transfer. v i 1 i It is an important object of my present invention to make the bottom of the outside tip guid ing end plate or frame of the magazine solid without the aforesaid thread slot. A magazine end plate constructed in thisway, will be stronger than those heretoforeused.requiring fewer tie rods foreits support, and will also holdt'he tip supporting shoulders permanently in correct -position with respect to the'giveways orsupports.

In obviating the thread slot it has been neces sary to make provision for guiding the Weft ends of the reservebobbins as th latter move downwardly in their guideways. This result I accom plish by providing the endplate with guide wires extending along the outer sides of the plate and down which the weft ends move as the bobbins travel toward transfer position. When the mag magazine and between the bobbinstacks, do not interfere with the weft ends.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my inverition resides in the combination and arrange ment of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein a convenient embodiment of my invention is set forth,

Fig; 1 is a front elevation of a magazine. made according to my present invention,

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line .3--3 of Fig. 2,'

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the lower part of the bobbin tip guiding end plate looking in the direction of arrow 4, Fig. l, and

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic plan looking in the direction of arrow 5, Fig. 2, and shows the magazine and'threa d holder on a reduced scale.

The magazine set forth herein is more particularly of the type shown in prior patent to Turner No. 2,262,307 and is mounted for rocking move ment on the weft replenishing loom above the for rocking the magazine and the manner of its support are well known and may be either as shown in the aforesaid patent, or as set forth in Patent No, 2,128,974. It is not thought necessary to illustrate the associated parts of the loom other than those shown'in Fig; 5, where a fixed bracket 8 carries the pivot? around which the reserve bobbin magazine M rocks to locate the lowest bobbin in either the front or back reserve bobbin stack- R and R, respectively, in transfer position depending upon which stack corresponds to the empty shuttle.

As shown more particularly in Figs. 1 and 2, the magazine has inner and outer bobbin guiding end plates or. frames Ill and l l, respectively, which are held together by three tie rods l2, l3 and I4".v These tie rods are parallel and are secured to the inner end plate l0 and extend out wardly therefrom to afford support for the end plate ll. They are somewhat similar to rods heretofore used, but in the present instance their location has been changed so that they are be= tween the bobbin stacks of the magazine to pen mit the weftends leading fromthe bobbins of the reserve bobbins to extend around plate II to a thread holder H indicated in Fig. 5.

The bobbin tip end plate I is U-shaped as seen in Fig. 2 and is provided with front and back bobbin tip guideways l5 and I6, respectively, in which are formed bobbin tip'guiding grooves and I8, respectively. These grooves are defined by walls which are substantially parallelor equidistant as shown in Fig. 2. Thus, slot lies between spaced front and back walls and 2| which extend downwardly and then curve rearwardly, or to the left as viewed in Fig. 2, to produce a curve 22 in groove l1, after which the walls become straight but downwardly and rearwardly inclined to provide groove H with a lower run or section 23. Wall 2| has an enlargement 25 which receives the tie rod l3 and has a rear end 26 for a purpose to be described. The lower end of wall 20 is formed with a shoulder 21 which supports the forward side of the tip of the lowermost bobbin B in the front stack.

In similar manner the rear guide slot Isis provided with front and back walls 30 and 3|, respectively, which are formed similarly to walls 20 and 2|, except that their lower ends are shaped to provide groove l8 with a downwardly and forwardly inclined run or section 32. The lower end of wall 30 has an end 33 similar in form and function to end 26, while the wall 3| has a bobbin supporting shoulder 34 for support of the rear side of the tip of the lowest bobbin B in the rear stack.

The two guideways I5 and I6 are joined at their lower ends by a solid wall 35 preferably cast integral with them and the lower ends of walls 20 and 2|, and 30 and 3|, thereby holding the bobbin tip supporting shoulders permanently in fixed position relatively to each other. Wall 35 is in effect part of a flat web which extends up along the guideways and cooperates with walls 20, 2|, 30 and 3|, to form grooves I1. and. I8, respectively.

The tips of bobbins B and B are yieldingly hel in transfer position by giveways or tip supports and 4|, respectively, which rock about a common pivotal support which may take th .form of a stud 42 threaded as at 43 into the upper part of wall 35. Stud 42 has a head 45 and is held fixed to the wall 35 by a check nut 46.

The supports 40 and 4| have hubs 48 and 49, respectively, rotatable on that part of stud 42 between head 45 and wall 35. Each support has an upwardly inclined arm 50 in which is threaded an adjustable stop screw 5| for engagement with a stop formed by-the associated lower end 23 or 33 of the walls 2| and 30, respectively. Each screw 5| is connected to one end of a tension spring 53 the other end of which is held by a clip 54. As shown in Fig. 3 the front clip 54 is held by a nut 55 threaded on the front tie rod l3, while the rear clip is held in position by anut 56 on the rear tie rod l4. Thesenuts 55 and 56 force their respective clips against bearings or the like 58 projecting inwardly from the wall 35, and cooperate with nuts 59to position end plate II on tie rods I3 and I4 and hold the clips in fixed position.

Each of the supports 40 and 4| is independently adjustable of the other by means of its adjusting screw 5| and can be properly located relatively to its corresponding shoulder 21. or 34 to support a bobbin tip 60. At the time of transfer from either of the stacks the lowest bobbin will be pushed downwardly by well-known mechanism not shown against the'action of the spring Gil corresponding to the associated support 40 or 4|. Since the shoulders 21 and 34 are cast integral with the wall 35 they are always at the same distance from their corresponding supports 40 and 4| after the latter have been adjusted.

Since there is no threaded slot passing through the wall 35 it is necessary to make provision for guiding the weft ends W'and W 'of the bobbins in the front and back stacks, respectively, as these weft ends lead from their bobbins to the thread holder H which in common practice is at the right of the plate I I as viewed in Fig. 1. In order to guide the weft ends W I provide a guide wire 62 the upper end of which is bent as at 63 and extends into a hub 64 on the guideway l5. This bent end '63 may either be driven into its hub or held therein in any approved manner. The wire 62 extends downwardly from hub 64 and is spaced inwardly from the plate II, or to the left of it, as shown in Fig. 1. The lower end of wire 62 is curved downwardly and rearwardly, or to the left, see Fig, 2, as at 65 and then has a downwardly and slightly forwardly inclined sharp bend 86, see Figs. 2 and 4. From this bend 56 the wire then extends upwardly as at 68 and extends into and is secured to the lower part of wall 20, as at 69. i

The forward side of wire 62 provides a smooth guide surface for the weft ends W extending from bobbins in thefront stack, and the weft end W2 of bobbin B will ordinarily be held in the notch defined by the sharp bend 66. This notch or bend is not sharp enough to trap the thread but is bent on a curve of sufiiciently short radius to hold it in supported position above any'structure under the magazine while'bobbin B is in the magazine. When the bobbin B is transferred downwardly from the position shown in Fig.2 the weft end W2 will slip out of the notch'and move down with its bobbin.

The rear guideway I6 is provided with a wire 15 which is similar to wire 62, being held at its upper end in a hub 16 corresponding to hub 64,

and having the lower end thereof inclined downwardly and forwardly and provided with a sharp curve 11 serving the same purpose as that already. described for the curve 66. Wire 15 is then bent upwardly and secured as at 18 to the lower part of wall 3|. When bobbin B is transferred its weft end W3, normally supported in raised position by the-sharp curve 11, will slip out of the latter and move downwardly in a manner similar to that already described for weft and W2,

It will thus be seen, as indicated particularly in Fig. 3, that the weft ends from the bobbins in the front and back stacks extend around their guide wires and then beyond the adjacent walls 2|) and 3| and converge as indicated. inFig. 5 toward the thread holder H. These threads W and W, and also W2 and W3, are kept wholly outside the magazine frame after they leave their respective bobbins and it is for this reason that no thread slot isneeded and that wall 35 can be made solid. In this connection it will be noted, particularly in Fig. 5, that the tie rods are all located between the bobbin stacks and between the guideways and 8| of the inner end frame l0 grooved to receive the bobbin butts.

As seen more particularly in Figs. 4 and 5, the front surface 82 of guideway I5 and the rear surface 83 of guideway l6 are formed continuously with the bottom surf-ace 84 of wall 35,'and these several surfaces form a smooth uninterrupted guide for any threads'which engage them. The weft ends extend from their respective guide assures wires along one :or another Of these surifiaces as they pass outwardly ito thethreadiholde-r. y

From the foregoing it widl the scan ithat have provided a simple form of Ibobbin tip guiding end plate or frame for .a multicolor weft replenishing loom having spaced bo'bbin :tip supporting shoulders which are cast integral with solid wall 35 connecting guideways 1 5 :and 16 :and serving to keep the shoulders permanently correct position with respect-to their bobbin supports 40 and 41. It will also be seen that the guide wires '62 and 1:5 provide means forguiding the weft ends of the ,reserve bobbins :along paths lying outside the end plate I. Since the end plate i is made in one piece it is not :neoes- 1 sary to provide :as many tie rodsras have heretofore been used, and turthermore,:al1 thetierodsare located between theltwo bobbin stacks, see Figs. 2 "and 5, where they w i'llznot "interfere with the weft ends as the latter move downwardly. The tie rods 13 and M are also conveniently located for holding the spring supporting clips '54, also, the front and back.surfaces 82 and 38-3 together with the bottom surface '84 of wall-.35

form a smooth continuous suriface for :engagement with the threads to)? the :bobbins the magazine.

Having thus described my invention :it will be seen that changes and modifications may 'ibe made therein by :those skilled Bill. the art Without departing from the spirit and scope of the-invention and'I'do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a reserve bobbin magazine for a Weft replenishing loom having a thread holder, a bobbin tip end plate havin a pair of spaced vertical guideways each having therein a guide groove for bobbin tips, a solid bottom wall for said end plate integral with said guideways and extending from the bottom of one of said guideways across to the bottom of the other guideway, a bobbin tip support at the bottom of each of said guideways, pivot means on said wall mounting each bobbin tip support for movement relatively to the corresponding guideway, and thread guides extending along said guideways, one thread guide for each guideway, to direct weft ends from the bobbins around the outer sides of said guideways and toward said thread holder, said wall preventing movement of the pivot means relatively to adjacent parts of said guideways.

2. In a multicolor weft replenishing. mechanism provided with reserve bobbins extending between inner and outer bobbin guiding end plates, tie 'rods connecting the inner plate to the outer plate to support the latter, bobbin guide means on each of said plates for a front stack of bobbins in front of said tie rods, other bobbin guide means on each of said plates for a rear stack of bobbins behind said tie rods, a continuous wall on the bottom of the outer plate connecting the guide means thereof and forming with the latter a one-piece outer end plate, a

bobbin tip support for the lower end of each thread guide means on the outer plate, shoulders on said wall, one for each tip support, a stop on each tip support to engage a shoulder, a spring connected to each tip support, attaching means on each tie rod for said springs, one attaching means for each spring, each spring holding the associated stop against the shoulder corresponding thereto, and pivot means on said wall for said tip supports on which the latter are movable toward and from their respective shoulders, :said wallpreventing irelative :movementof each shoulder \with respect to the corresponding tip support whenthe :stop lOf the Elatter engages the shoulder correspondingtheneto.

'3. In a weftreplenishing loom provided :with a thread holder and a magazine having an end plate for the tips of reserve bobbins from which we'i t ends extend, said end plate having front and back pairs of spaced walls, the lower ends of the walls of the front car being inclined downwardly and rearwardly "and the lower ends of the walls of the rearpair being inclined downwardly and forwardly, aflai', web extendingal'o'ng each pair of walls and forming therewith front and back bobbin tip guideways, said web being integral with said pairs of walls and extending across the bottom of said plate to join the lower inclined ends of saidwalls, the outside wall of each pair 'of Walls having the lower end thereof formed with a bobbin tip supporting shoulder, a pair of bobbin tip supports, one for each shoulder, pivot means on said web between said pairs .of walls mountingeach supp rt for movement relatively to the corresponding shoulder, said web holding said shoulders permanently in fixed position with .respect to said pivot means, a stop .for each support, .a spring cooperating with each stop to hold the associated support in spaced relation with respect to thecorresponding shoulder, and a thread guide extending along each guideway on the outer side of the associated bobbin stack, the weft ends .of eachstack of bobbins extending outwardly therefrom and around the corresponding thread guide to the thread holder.

4. An outer end plate for a weft bobbin magazine, said plate having front and back horizontally spaced substantially vertical guideways having grooves therein for bobbin tips, a solid wall extending across the bottom of said plate joining the guideways, bobbin tip supporting shoulders rigid with said wall, a bobbin tip support for each shoulder extending between said shoulders, and pivot means on said wall for said tip supports, said wall having a fiat bobbin engaging surface extending uninterruptedly' from one shoulder along said supports to the other shoulder and said wall preventing movement of each shoulderrelatively to the pivot means of the corresponding bobbin tip support.

5. An outer end plate for a weft bobbin magazine, said plate having front and back horizontally spaced substantially vertical guideways hav-- ing grooves therein for bobbin tips, a solid wall extending across the bottom of said plate and joining the guideways, bobbin tip supporting shoulders rigid with said wall, a pivot fixed to said wall, a pair of bobbin tip supports mounted on said pivot, one support for each shoulder, and an adjustable stop screw on each support engaging part of a guideway rigid with said wall to limit movement of the associated support toward the corresponding shoulder.

6. An outer end plate for a weft bobbin magasine, said plate having front and back horizontally spaced substantially vertical guideways having grooves therein for bobbin tips, a solid wall integral with said guideways and extending across the bottom of said plate and joining said j guideways to form a one-piece plate, a bobbin tip supporting shoulder integral with said wall located at the bottom of each of said guideways, a pivot secured to said wall, a pair of bobbin tip supports mounted on said pivot, one support for each shoulder and. guideway, each support having a part located between said shoulders, and an adjusting screw on each support engaging part of the guideway corresponding-to the other support, each adjusting screw limiting'movement of the associated support toward the corresponding shoulder.-

'7. A one-piece outer end plate for a weft bobbin magazine, said plate havingfront and back vertical parallel bobbin guideways joined at their lower ends by a transverse wall formedintegrally with said guideways, each guideway having a bobbin tip guiding groove extending downwardly to said wall, bobbin tip supporting shoulders integral with said wall, each shoulder being located at the bottom of the corresponding groove, and a pair of bobbin tip supports, one for each shoulder, pivotally-mounted on said wall and having'parts extending to positions between said shoulders, each tip support when in normal position being spaced from the corresponding shoulder the proper distance to support a bobbin tip, and said Wall preventing relative movement of said shoulders with respect to their associated tip supports when the latter are in normal position. I I

8. In a weft replenishing mechanism operating with a pair of stacks of reserve bobbins. said mechanism including an outside plate having two bobbin tipguideways, one for each stack ofbobbins, a shoulder on said plate at the lower end of each guideway, a bobbin support for each guideway, pivot means for said supports, each. support and the corresponding shoulder cooperating with each other to support the associated stack of bobmovement toward and from their respective shoulders, said wall preventing relative movement of said shoulders with respect to said pivot means. i v

-9. In a weft replenishing mechanism operating with a pair of stacks of reserve bobbins, said mechanism including an outside plate having two bobbin tip guideways, one for each stack of bobbins, a shoulder on said plate at the lower end of each guideway, a bobbin support for each guideway, pivot means for said supports, each support and the corresponding shoulder cooperating with each other to support the associated stack of bobbins, a wall forming part of said plate extending across the bottom of the latter and rigid With said shoulders, a stop on each support to engage a shoulder, resilient means holding each stop against the shoulder corresponding thereto, and pivot means on said wall for said bobbin tip supports to mount the latter for movement between said shoulders and toward and from their respective shoulders, said wall preventing relative movement of each shoulder with respect to the corresponding bobbin support when the stop of the latter engages the shoulder corresponding thereto.

CLIFFORD DARWIN. 

